Blog by an experienced Divorce and Family Law Attorney to educate people with Family Law and Divorce issues, answering questions and explaining complicated matters in a straightforward and understandable way. This blog is a Newsletter, designed for general information only. The information presented in this blog is not, is not intended to be, and shall not be construed to constitute legal advice, nor to create an attorney-client relationship.

Monday, February 20, 2012

QUESTION: I am going to be divorced and will be receiving spousal support but I am also receiving unemployment benefits. Will those benefits continue once I start receiving the spousal support and should that amount of unemployment be considered when deciding on the amount of spousal support to be paid.

MY RESPONSE: You will continue to receive Unemployment Benefits while you receive Spousal Support, but your Unemployment Benefits will be considered in determining the amount of Spousal Support that you will receive.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

QUESTION: I am being mentally abused by my husband and not allowed to work to make my own money. What money my husband makes is all his. How am I supposed to get out of this situation? You have to have money to do anything. I am not happy and cannot live like this any more I do not wish to be dominated over.

MY RESPONSE: Unless you and your husband had a prenuptial agreement that made your husband's income his own separate property, the money that he earns is community property, and what it purchases is community property. You should interview experienced Family Law Attorneys in an effort to find and retain one to represent you in your divorce and to seek an early attorney's fee order against your husband to fund the litigation. If you can’t locate such an attorney, go to your local Superior Court’s self-help clinic to learn how to file and proceed with a divorce and how to seek and get a filing fee waiver from the Court.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

QUESTION: My husband drinks every day and recently he got out of control. I called the cops; he resisted arrest and assaulted a cop. He had weed on him. What are the chances I will get custody of the kids until he stops drinking and drugs?

MY RESPONSE: If you file a divorce case and seek and receive domestic violence restraining orders against your husband, that would create a rebuttable presumption under Family Code Section 3044 that an award of any sort of custody to your husband would be detrimental to the best interests of your children. Your husband's violence against a policeman will not qualify you for domestic violence restraining orders, but if he is convicted of a crime of violence against the policeman, evidence of his conviction may be helpful in your child custody case. If your husband was recently violent towards you or any of your children, or if he threatened you or them with harm, that may qualify you for domestic violence restraining orders. Even if your husband's conduct doesn't warrant or result in domestic violence restraining orders, evidence of his drinking and drug use should assist you in getting sole physical and legal custody of your children. You would best retain the services of an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you in your child custody (and divorce) case.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

Sunday, February 5, 2012

QUESTION: I live in CA. I signed a birth certificate as the father. I was also granted visitation every other weekend by the Court. My ex filed for CS. Can I still request DNA test to be done even though I signed the birth certificate and went to court for visitation rights?

MY RESPONSE: You can and should request a DNA test as soon as possible if you have reason to question whether you are the father. If the mother won’t stipulate to an Order for the DNA test, file a Motion in the Paternity case for the DNA test.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

QUESTION: I am in Jail, and I want to divorce my wife. How long will it take for me to get a divorce from her?

MY RESPONSE: How long it takes will depend on the issues in your divorce case, whether your wife will cooperate in settling the divorce case, and whether or not you are represented by counsel in that case. You would best retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you in your divorce case.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

QUESTION: I just learned that my marriage that took place 8 years ago was not real since my husband was not yet divorced from his previous wife. I would like to file for divorce. How long will it take before a divorce will be finished and how much does it really cost for a divorce?

MY RESPONSE: You will need to interview experienced Family Law Attorneys to determine how much they charge for their services. If your husband's former marriage hadn't been dissolved when you married him, your marriage to him is at least voidable, if not void, so you should likely file for both a dissolution of the marriage and nullity of the marriage - so that if you don't get the annulment (i.e., if you are unable to prove that he is still married to his former wife), you can get your marriage dissolved. It will take at least six months from the time your husband is served with your divorce/annulment case, and likely substantially longer, to dissolve or annul your marriage, so you shouldn't delay getting started.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

QUESTION: In 2007 my wife and I divorced. Per the divorce decree as of May 2010 she was to begin paying 50% of the travel fees for our 2 children. To date, she has yet to pay anything. In December 2011, I paid for 2 plane tickets for my children to visit me and she failed to put them on the plane, and thus denied me visitation. With enough notification from me to her, can I offset the amount she owes me for travel from her child support? Since it was her choice to deny me visitation after I bought the tickets, can I insist she pays the full amount for those tickets? I send her child support directly to her from my bank account.

MY RESPONSE: You would be far safer to file an Order to Show Cause seeking permission from the Court to offset the travel expenses against child support, and seeking sanctions against your ex-wife for refusing to allow the children to fly, if her refusal was unjustified. However, if she had valid reasons for not letting the children fly (age, lack of an accompanying adult, etc.), you shouldn't file an OSC. It would wise for you to try to work out a resolution of the travel issues with your ex-wife, to avoid further problems. Child support is for the benefit of the children, and you could create problems for yourself with the Court if you deduct the travel expense from child support without your ex-wife's written consent or an order of the Court allowing you to do so.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

Friday, February 3, 2012

QUESTION: I am on my parents’ personal and business accounts, to enable me to handle their business in the event they need me to do so. When I file for a divorce, will my wife be able to have access to this account since my social is on it?

MY RESPONSE: Your wife can "discover" information about the accounts from you since your name is on the accounts, but if the accounts are bona fide business and personal accounts of your parents from which you haven't drawn funds for your own use or deposited community funds into those accounts, your wife will likely have no right to any funds in those accounts.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

QUESTION: What are the steps I need to take after my spouse has been served with divorce papers?

MY RESPONSE: If you can afford it, the best step would be to retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you. If not, you can go to your Superior Court's self-help center to seek the assistance of volunteers there. Your wife has 30 days to respond to the documents served on her. If she fails to timely file and serve her Response, you will need to seek to have the Court enter her default. You also will need to prepare your Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure and have it served on your wife, in any event. There are many other things that need to be done in a divorce, but they are too voluminous to put into a response to this question.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

QUESTION: We performed a secret DNA test on my husband and his 14 year old daughter and it came back he is not the biological father. If he tells the courts, he loses his rights correct? What about the years of child support? He was married to his ex at the time his daughter was born and was named as the father with child support but not on the birth certificate? Not sure if we should say ANYTHING until after she is 18. What are his options?

MY RESPONSE: The Court may not approve of the clandestine DNA test and may become upset with your husband because the DNA test was secretly done. If he accepted his daughter into his home and held her out as his daughter, he became her “Presumed Father”. It is likely far too late for your husband to contest paternity and support. The Court might well deny his Motion for a DNA test if he sought one at this time (but he could file an OSC to test that issue, understanding that he might lose that OSC). For all intents and purposes, he and his "daughter" developed close interpersonal ties as father and daughter, and revealing the DNA test results could be devastating to her. It might just be best to leave a sleeping dog lie and never tell his daughter.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

QUESTION: My son is 3 weeks old and his father isn't on the birth certificate. I want to get his parental rights terminated.

MY RESPONSE: You can't. Children are entitled to a father and a mother. If the father doesn't know he has a child, the closest that you can come to terminating his parental rights at this time would be by keeping him in a state of ignorance. If the father knows he has a child and has access to his child, yet makes no effort to contact or support his child for a period of at least one year, it may be possible to terminate his parental rights in a stepparent adoption.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

QUESTION: I got married at 16 and divorced at 21. I was young, dumb and naive when it came down to court stuff. The long story short I was nickle and dimed out of court and my kid's dad (convicted felon) was granted custody. I disappeared out of confusion, guilt, shame, lack of funds and support (streams back to my own abusive childhood and I now suffer in my adult life from post traumatic stress, anxiety, and social phobias, none of which make me incapable of caring for another human being, especially my children. Now 9 years later, my 14 year old contacted me. What are her and my rights in order to rebuild our relationship? Neither my daughter nor my 10 year old son live with their dad (my 13 year old does, but his dad refuses to let him see me). I wasn't denied custody due to abuse or neglect. I was a scared teen, then intimidated. And yes I should have come forward before my 14 year old daughter found me online, but it's obvious my children want to work on our relationship. The kids eventually get curious. So my question is (they are 14, 13, & 10), what are our rights or with needs to be done so my kids (who are old enough now to know what they want) and I can rebuild what we missed out over the last 9 years. I don't think it should be up to him to punish me for being a coward at that young age. If my kids forgave me then that's what matters! The 14 year old and 10 year old have always lived with their father’s parents (who helped me reunite and visit with the two children living with them until their dad found out). My 13 year old daughter lives with the dad and his new two kids; I was told by my oldest daughter that my 13 year old wants to see me. She is just nervous and scared to tell her dad. I don't want to take them away or anything. I just want to be able to see the kids when the kids want to see me, without chaos or drama. They should have that right. I'm going to try 1 last thing. Hopefully a letter and me addressing him directly helps but if not, out of his own pain and selfishness, what should be my next move? Do I even have rights? The kids should, but do they?

MY RESPONSE: File an Order to Show Cause in the Paternity case seeking to modify child custody and visitation. You would best at least consult, if not retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you. You may qualify for an attorney's fee order on your behalf in the Paternity case. The Court may allow the children to express their desires and preferences in connection with child custody and visitation.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

QUESTION: My ex husband came to pick up my son on visiting day. Now he won't return my son. Neither of us have custody. How do I have my son returned to me? I have 77% care and he has 33%.

MY RESPONSE: I don't understand why neither you nor your ex-husband have custody of your son, if your and your husband's time with your son are already set. Incidentally, 77% plus 33% equals 110%, so your calculation is not correct. You should retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you, to file an Ex Parte Application for an Order to for your husband to immediately return your son to you and, to be safe, for an Order to Show Cause on shortened time for an Order for your husband to return your son to you, and perhaps also for an order for professionally supervised visitation for your husband, at his expense.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

QUESTION: Yesterday evening my daughter's father was arrested for firing a gun at another person. What legal action should I take to keep my daughter safe? She is 6 months old and sees him regularly, but he is not allowed any over night visits. We do have joint custody. How hard would it be for me to have joint custody removed?

MY RESPONSE: It isn't the arrest that will make a difference. It would be a conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, and/or perhaps the facts relating to his commission of that crime. You would best retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you, to file an Order to Show Cause to modify child custody. You stand a good chance of removing the father's joint custodial rights due to the violent nature of the father's crime, but you will need to prove the facts, and the father has a constitutional right not to respond to questions whose answers might tend to incriminate him.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

QUESTION: Am I entitled to access my husband's checking and savings accounts that are in his name only?

MY RESPONSE: That depends on how you define "access". If you are inquiring as to whether or not the bank will allow you to withdraw funds from an account that is solely in your husband's name and to which you have no written right of access, the bank will not allow you to make any such withdrawals from that account. If you are going through a divorce, you can perform discovery regarding those accounts, you can get access to information and bank records pertaining to those accounts through such discovery and/or through subpoenas to the bank, and you will be entitled to your community share of funds existing in those accounts as of the date of separation.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |